Interview: Stephanie Tyler, author of 'Defiance'

Interview: Stephanie Tyler, author of 'Defiance'

Best-selling author Stephanie Tyler’s specialty is military heroes, and whether it’s military romantic suspense, paranormal romance or her newest release, Defiance, you’ll inevitably find a hot hero who has served in the armed forces in some capacity. Stephanie writes dark, edgy, sexy books immersing her characters into a dangerous, thrilling storyline and, of course, we get … romance. Stephanie also co-writes a paranormal erotic suspense series with Larissa Ione under the pen name Sydney Croft. Published by Carina Press, Defiance is Stephanie’s first New Adult novel, and she delivers a unique motorcycle club (MC) romance set in a post-apocalyptic world. Stephanie joins us today to talk about her life as a writer and busy mom, military heroes, the New Adult genre and Defiance.

Lea: Welcome to HEA, Stephanie! It’s so great to be able to chat with you again.

Stephanie: You too! Thanks for having me here.

Lea: You have an extremely busy home life and have been quite open on your website and social media about the fact that your daughter has special needs. As well, you have a little preschooler and he must be rocketing around the house at warp speed. Plus, you have the added stress of aging parents who require attention, and there is your husband who I’m sure needs a hug once in a while, too. 😉 Even so, this year, you’ve published a novella, as well as the first novel in your new Section 8 series. The third book in your paranormal Eternal Wolves series is due out next month. And Defiance is out this week. How have you managed to accomplish all this and stay sane?

Stephanie: I do think that it’s because I have all that going on that I write as much as I do. For me, it’s more of a “the more I have to do, the more I do” kind of thing. I write a book in a month. If I have six months to write it, I’ll be writing it the month before it’s due. I’ll be thinking about it before then and I’ll even be writing it, but the serious, ass-in-chair, avalanche writing happens the month before. That’s when my brain kind of clicks on. And since this is both a job and a love, I can’t really shut my brain off. Ever. So even trying to take a break will typically result in something like … the Defiance series. : )

Writing keeps me happy. If I don’t get time to write, I get unhappy. So me writing a lot = happy, and that’s an important thing for my kids and the people around me to see. I’m really lucky that I get to do a job that I truly love.

Lea: Gotta love those military heroes in romance. What was the catalyst that sparked your fascination and commitment to write about men and women who have a background or at the very least a connection to the armed forces?

Stephanie: I think military men make such amazing heroes — the fact that they’re willing to sacrifice so much for my safety says it all to me. My grandfather was in the Navy (he doctored his birth certificate and went in at 15, which is who Jake, from Hard to Hold, is based on), plus I have many close family friends with military backgrounds and ties. I like the way they think. : )

Lea: Your writing voice has a strong but sort of shadowy quality and you write crisp descriptive prose that is a perfect fit for stories showcasing military heroes and, I think, Defiance. Your narratives are quite dense, packed with a significant amount of information, and there is generally more than one theme and plotline. Do you think your voice has developed and refined over time? Do you plot out your stories or are you a pantser?

Stephanie: I love subplots, I really do. I like to think of my suspense stories as more of an entire season of a TV show in one book, with all the threads tightening up and meeting at the end. I like exploring all different characters, because we don’t live life in a vacuum and there’s always other people intruding into our world. But, sure, I know I’ve gotten better over time, and part of that was learning to trust myself. Sometimes, it’s easy to follow everyone’s suggestions during the editing process (and I’m talking about more developmental edits here vs. copy edits, both of which are important) … but if you don’t have your own vision and know when and why you should stick to your guns, it’s easy to lose sight of what makes you unique as an author.

That being said, I think Defiance has the least points-of-view I’ve ever written in a story, and that’s the way it worked out. I didn’t go into it saying, I’m really going to limit the point-of-view characters. It’s what the characters wanted/needed. Which leads to your question on pantsing vs. plotting — I’m a pantser, or a gardener, as George R.R. Martin put it so well. I dig the hole and wait to see what happens. I might know the broad arc (i.e., I knew that Defiance was an MC set in a post-apocalyptic world and I knew the characters but I didn’t necessarily know every single twist and turn of the plot). If I knew that, it would take the fun out of it.

Look, my characters drive the action — to me, plot becomes me pushing them around the board, which makes them reactive instead of proactive. I need them to make choices, to make me go, Wow, I did NOT see that coming. I want to be surprised writing it the same way a reader wants to be surprised reading it.

Lea: New Adult seems to be going through some growing pains, but as I understand it, the genre evolved from Young Adult, essentially an extension of that grouping, except it encompasses stories about older teens and young twentysomethings — in essence, coming-of-age novels. There is discussion regarding whether New Adult fits under the YA umbrella or in the adult romance category. What is your understanding of New Adult? Do you see it as a hybrid of YA or as adult romance? What attracted you to the genre?

Stephanie: I really see New Adult as its own genre, rather than a hybrid of YA and romance (but I definitely think that romance lends itself perfectly to New Adult). : )

New Adult’s about allowing characters between the ages of 18 and 24 to act their age and play off other characters of the same age. It was such a natural progression of the way I already write — I think exploring a character’s past, especially those years when they’re so fraught with angst, is so important. I realized that I could actually write about characters at that age now instead of making them older and going back and describing their past. I can show them living it.

People have written about the age group before, but I find they’re always either made to act like mini-adults or put in a more adult setting — for example, the 22-year-old romance heroine paired with the older guy (which is a trope I love, don’t get me wrong) or else the age is a tease, like, you’ll meet this character at 18/19 and then I’ll age them a couple of years and they’ll have their story. No one really knew what to do with them because I think it’s a hard age to come to grips with … there’s always a “hands off” factor in romance when you’re talking about 18 or 19 year olds (although far more for girls than for the guys — we don’t seem to care that guys are sexually active — it’s almost expected for our bad boys) …

For me, the age — and what happens during that time period — truly defines the New Adult novel, and that’s what makes it so exciting and unique, because the time between 18 and 25 is probably one of the most intense times of our lives. It’s a time of extremes. We’re more than a little selfish in some ways, and in others, we’re way too giving. We’re told to explore — we don’t have to know exactly what we want from life — or who we want — it’s maybe the only time in our adult life that it’s OK not to know what you want.

I also think of it as a time period where you’re expected not to know better. It’s the time of possibilities, where anything and everything can and will happen. You’re making mistakes, getting in trouble, moving too fast, loving too hard … everything is just magnified. The intensity of that time period in your life is intoxicating.

Lea: I’ve seen NA described as “sexed-up YA” or “YA smut,” which I found quite derogatory and caused me to scratch my head. How would you respond to this type of criticism?

Stephanie: Well, I’ve never really understood the whole patronizing attitude toward romance novels in general, but it seems to especially disturb some people when romance novels include sex. I’ve always said that two of the best things in life are love and sex, and so I always kind of watch with fascination when someone makes a crack about, “you must have a great sex life to write these books,” because honestly, if that’s their first reaction when they find out what I write, I’ve got to think that they’re way more uncomfortable about it than I am.

As for the whole “NA is sexed-up YA” argument, it’s an odd attitude, because the age that New Adult covers are the ages when sexuality really comes to the forefront of relationships. To not include it would be odd. I mean, if you look at Lena Dunham’s Girls, I think that pretty much encompasses New Adult in the current economy. So, yes, there’s sex in New Adult because it’s appropriate to the age group. And that’s important — why shut the door on such an important piece of someone’s life during the ages of 18-24/5?

Lea: I don’t care for the word smut when talking about romance novels, period, and use of the term is doubly peculiar in the case of NA because the sexuality is not graphic. It’s quite light, actually and, as you say, appropriate to the age group.

I think Defiance is brilliant. : ) Just to set the stage for our readers: There has been an apocalyptic event called Chaos that has left the world in ruin and darkness. Those who have survived rarely see the sun because the atmosphere is clouded with debris. Defiance is a motorcycle club (MC), and the leaders had the foresight to have a survival plan in place in the event of disaster. Please tell us about the tube system and about what the world is like for those who have survived.

Stephanie: YAY — so thrilled you liked it. : )

(Photo: )

I’m a huge planner for disaster. I’ve been banned from online shopping while watching specials about real-life disasters. For instance, I was watching a special after the one-year anniversary of Katrina and the next day, gallons of water arrived and Zoo (my husband) was like, “What is this?”

And I was like, “Three gallons of water per person per day for three weeks. It’s survival!”

Needless to say, I think we still have that water.

But, look, I like to be comfortable. And with my daughter being special needs, we needed a generator, so I’ve got that back-up assurance. But I look at things like Hurricane Sandy that hit our area so unexpectedly hard and thought, What if this happened everywhere, all at the same time? How could we recover if other states’ electrical workers couldn’t come in and help us? I mean, there were people I knew who didn’t have electricity for three weeks, and around here. That’s a long, long time. No water, no electricity, no gasoline. It was scary, and worse to think of the people whose homes were completely destroyed.

So the tubes I envisioned are a bit like these Atlas tubes (and, yes, I want one. I think Atlas should give me one for promo’ing them. *Hint, Atlas*)

Lea: You’ve really stepped outside the box with this one, Stephanie, because NA has, up until now, been associated with contemporary romance. I initially had difficulty getting my head around the NA designation for Defiance, but then I came to understand that you’ve built an alternate world where the survivors who fall into the twentysomething group are trying to forge their place in not only a new reality but also within a patriarchal, misogynistic, old-school MC culture. What was the inspiration for Defiance and creating a world where a dangerous, hardcore MC is a bastion of safety for its members in a post-Chaos world?

Stephanie: I love the motorcycle club culture in theory — and by that, I mean, because I don’t have to live it. I get to watch the brilliant writing of Kurt Sutter and his Sons of Anarchy show, and wonder how he gets me to root for the criminals. And I think that’s the key for me as to why I wrote it in a post-apocalyptic setting. Because those rules — those motorcycle club cultural norms — would actually fit well in that kind of world where it’s anarchy outside. You’d need that structure, the men as caveman types … women would be looking for protection, so for me, it was easier to swallow that a woman would and could deal with that.

But then I started thinking about the girls who grow up inside that culture — what do they see on a daily basis? What are their goals? Do they dream of college, or do they want an MC man? Do they run from it? Do they pretend to follow the alpha rules but really have their own way of getting around them? Kind of like, are these men strong because they have strong women behind them? Because I don’t think you can be a weak woman in this culture and survive for long. And I saw the Chaos as a way for the younger generation in Defiance to really prove themselves. It’s not the easiest coming-of-age, but for them, it’s certainly not the worst.

Lea: Heroine Tru Tennyson is a very brave and intelligent young woman who had a difficult life even prior to Chaos. She grew up a member of the Defiance fold, as her father and mother were members. Violence against and the oppression of women are accepted so when life became unbearable, she fled Defiance, intent on making her own life. Then Chaos struck, and she was forced to make some tough decisions. What brings Tru back to Defiance? She doesn’t face a warm welcome, does she?

Stephanie: Tru definitely doesn’t face a warm welcome and, to be fair, she doesn’t expect one, which showed me what a tough chick she was, right from the start. She’s so torn about going back — she wants to see Caspar, but she did need to leave and be on her own in order to know what she was coming back to. So even though she does go back to Defiance for very specific reasons besides Caspar, I know she would’ve ended up there anyway. She knew where her heart was.

Lea: Who is Caspar and how does he know Tru?

Stephanie: You meet Caspar in the first scene as the illegitimate son of Lance, the head of the Defiance MC. Caspar’s taken in by the club when his mother dies, but he’s always treated like an outsider. He’s always kept an eye on Tru, but he never believed that anything could happen between them, especially because she was dating his half-brother and best friend in the MC when they were younger. But as Caspar becomes a strong influence in the MC, things start to change for him, and Tru begins to see the bad boy for who he really is — an excellent leader, and an excellent man.

Lea: You wrote this book predominantly in third person, but one important secondary character speaks to us in first. Please tell us about Mathias.

Stephanie: Oh, I had such angst over Mathias and his first-person-ness. I mean, that’s how he came out. I’ve never written in first person before — it’s not my natural preference, but for him, that’s his energy. And a few initial readers were thrown (and my editor and I had gone back and forth on this because, as Angela James pointed out, first-person’s really intimate, and the hero and heroine are in third). I did try him in third person, but it just wasn’t working for me. I wasn’t hearing his voice anymore and, to me, that’s the death of a character.

So I made a choice and Angela was great about it. I know it’s going to bother some people, but as I said to Angela: It’s New Adult — no rules!

Mathias was born mute. He talks with his hands (sign language plus an integration of military signs and signals), and his best friend, Bishop, translates for him when necessary. And while I think it’s because he can’t speak that I needed him to have a stronger voice in the story (hence the first-person), I also saw him as the outsider, kind of like an over-reaching narrator to the entire piece. I needed him to stand out, and I think I succeeded.

I really love him. I’m very protective of him, more than he needs, probably, because the guy’s tough as nails, and then some.

Lea: I loved Mathias and agree. I think writing him in first-person was ideal. We are given excellent insight into what is occurring through him. He is an endearing, standout secondary character!

Defiance is the first novel in a new series. When is the next story scheduled for release and which characters will it focus on?

Stephanie: Redemption is scheduled for Sept. 14! It’s Mathias’ story — and the heroine’s a newcomer. Book three is Salvation, and that’s Bishop’s story, available in January of 2014.

Lea: Yay! I’m so looking forward to book two. : )

What other new novels can fans look forward to from the desk of Stephanie Tyler?

Stephanie: Dire Desires, book three in the Eternal Wolf Clan series, comes out July 2 — that’s Jinx’s story, and it’s such a buddy book with an intense romance. And then Unbreakable, book two in the Section 8 series, comes out Nov. 2.

I keep lucking out on gorgeous covers. : )

Lea: Thanks so much for taking time to chat with us today, Stephanie. Best of luck with Defiance and your future publications.

Lea Franczak cannot remember a time when she didn’t have a book in her hand. She’s read and enjoyed multiple genres but is especially partial to contemporary and erotic romance (with or without D/s themes), dark gritty romantic suspense and paranormal romance. Lea also writes reviews at Book Lovers Inc. and is active on Goodreads. Lea is also HEA’s Tweeter Extraordinaire. Follow HEA on Twitter (@HEAusatoday).